The launch of composer David Teie’s album this week was attended by 15 of his biggest fans – and all had four legs, a fur coat and made David itch and sneeze.
All of the music was written by cat-allergic composer David especially for cats – hence the album’s title Music for Cats, which has already climbed to number one on the iTunes Classical Music Chart and Amazon UK’s Classical Orchestral Music Chart.
David is a solist with America’s National Symphony Orchestra and his music on this album simulates purring, heartbeats and “sympathetic cat noises”, to put felines at ease.
The Telegraph in the UK was at the launch and spoke with David about the unusual album.
The composer said, between nose blows no doubt: “I used different ‘purr’ instruments to create sympathetic expressions for cats. I also simulated kitten sounds and a suckling sounds they would have heard as their brains were developing.
“As a violin simulates a woman’s voice, which is sympathetic for humans, so the cello simulates cat noises for cats.”
His next quest is to find noises that liven cats up, which The Telegraph called “dance music for cats”.
Here are some of the very chilled guests at the launch:
David also wants to “mimic the singing of mice” – but to do that he will need to develop speakers that go above the wavelengths humans can hear. He’s convinced this music will get cats springing from their 23 hours a day of snooze.
But why this album, David, and your plans for more?
He explains: “This started as a test of my theory of how music can affect other species – I have taken music apart and put it back together again.
“I’ve become a total animal nut! I no longer see humans as special – we are just another one of the species.”
The Telegraph writer who attended the event didn’t necessarily love the music himself but he did not that the feline guests did seem to relax around it – until their dinner was brought out.
“When the composer treated the audience to a live cello performance, Wookiee a large tabby tom cat took a front-row seat,” The Telegraph said.
More than 10,000 albums have already been sold. David said: “”Many of the cat owners have told me they find it pleasing for themselves too, and so there’s a kind of a shared experience for the cats and their cat owners.”
